The Psychosocial Safety Climate's Influence on Safety Behavior and Employee Engagement: Does Safety Leadership Really Count?

Abstract

The importance of safety behavior (SB) for workplace safety, especially in high-risk industries such as the construction sector, cannot be overstated. However, there exists limited research that has examined how the psychosocial safety climate (PSC) influences SB. This research examines the effect of the PSC on SB among Libyan construction workers. The mediating role of work engagement (WE) and the moderating role of safety leadership (SL) were also observed. We obtained 366 valid responses through a cross-sectional research design to verify the aforementioned relationships. The findings indicate that PSC has a positive influence on SB, PSC has a positive influence on WE, and WE has a positive influence on SB. The link between PSC and SB is partially mediated by WE. At a high level of safety leadership, the link between PSC and WE is further strengthened for construction firms whose employees perceive a high level of safety leadership. At a high level of safety leadership, the link between PSC and SB is further strengthened for construction firms whose employees perceive a high level of safety leadership. The findings underscore the importance of exploring the PSC's influence on safety outcomes, such as safety behavior. It also underscores the importance of having organizational resources, such as PSC, improving employee engagement, and the crucial role of safety leadership in the construction context.